Who Spilled the Beans?

We did! I’ll bet you didn’t know that Bar Harbor Foods® produces delicious baked beans. In fact baked beans are an old New England tradition. You’ve probably heard of ‘Boston Baked Beans’ and in fact a nickname for the city is Beantown.

Our vegetarian baked beans were first created as a delicious complement to our great seafood products and we believe you will find them a perfect addition to your favorite family meals. They are made from heirloom Soldier and Yellow Eye dried beans, which have a long history as a New England favorite.

Bar Harbor Foods® creates our beans in small batches, with simple, natural ingredients, like people on the Maine coast have been doing for generations – molasses, pure cane sugar, water and ground mustard. And, as with all of our products, our beans are free from additives and preservatives. Just Simple. Honest. Food.

As the Maine Folklife Center explains, colonists were introduced to beans by the Algonquin-speaking tribes of New England, who baked beans in ceramic pots with maple syrup and bear fat.

Tasting Table

We use a type of beans that are native to Maine and the state was home to a famous company, B&M Beans, that was founded and located in Portland Maine for 150 years, until 2021. So baked beans are a long and well known Maine tradition too.

Try this hearty side dish with your next fish dinner for a real taste of Maine!

Recipe

Simple and Cheesy Corn Pudding Cake

Ingredients

Butter or oil
1/2 (16-oz) can Bar Harbor® All Natural, Vegetarian Yellow-Eye Beans
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons Raye’s® Lemon Pepper Mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup molasses

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Coat the inside of a loaf pan with butter or oil. Lightly mash the beans (with half the sauce contained in can) with a fork in a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk eggs and add to bean mixture along with 1/2 cup of the cheese, mustard, garlic powder and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, over high heat, bring the milk to scalding, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Reduce heat to medium-low and slowly pour in the cornmeal while stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring until thickened and smooth, another minute. Remove from heat and stir in bean mixture, mixing well. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes. Quickly slide out the oven shelf and top with remaining cheese. Continue cooking an additional 10 minutes, or until the cake has set in the center. Remove to cool slightly before slicing to serve.